Cephalotaxus alpina

(H.L.Li) L.K.Fu 1984

Common names

高山三尖杉 gaoshan sanjianshan, lit. "alpine sharp-leaf cypress".

Taxonomic notes

Type: CHINA. Yunnan: Weixi Lisu County, Mekong-Yangtze divide, Litiping Mountain Range, 1923, J. F. Rock 11572 (holotype A!, the Arnold Arboretum). Synonymy: Cephalotaxus fortunei var. alpina H.L.Li 1953; C. fortunei subsp. alpina (H.L.Li) Silba 2007; C. fortunei var. globosa S.Y.He 1964. Lang et al. (2013) reduce C. fortunei var. globosa to synonymy with C. alpina based on similarities in the holotype specimens.

Most of the literature on this rarely-mentioned species has treated it as a variety of C. fortunei, but Lang et al. (2012, 2013) find consistent morphological differences in width and thickness of leaves (narrower and thinner in C. alpina) and peduncles of pollen cones (much shorter in C. alpina). Lang et al. (2013) feel these differences warrant species rank for C. alpina, and POWO currently agrees, and the species is also supported by the morphological analyse of Zhang et al. (2016). There may also be differences between C. alpina and C. fortunei in distribution and habitat, but there have been few collections of this species, and it seems to have been little studied.

One recent, highly detailed molecular study of Cephalotaxus sequenced the complete plastome (Wang et al. 2022). This study included 3 C. alpina specimens from Yunnan, which all grouped together in a clade sister to a clade of C. latifolia and C. sinensis specimens (conventionally synonymized with C. nana and C. harringtonia, respectively); this result was in agreement with a prior plastome study (Ji et al. 2021). The whole group was sister to a clade of the 3 C. fortunei specimens, but this differed from the findings of Ji et al. (2021), who placed it sister to a larger and more heterogenous clade. It's worth noting that Ji et al. also used a molecular clock analysis to find that most of these taxa diverged during the Pleistocene, which is recent enough that the species complex may be affected by processes such as incomplete lineage sorting, in which case further work will likely be needed to develop a robust molecular phylogeny.

Description

Evergreen shrubs, or trees to 13 m tall and 20 cm dbh. Bark dark reddish brown, peeling in strips. Leaves 1.5–13.0 cm (mean 8 cm) long, 2.0–3.5 mm (mean 3 mm) wide, borne at 40–70° to branchlet axis and trending in an upward ‘V’-shape. Pollen cones sessile or subsessile on 0-2 mm peduncles. Aril bears prominent longitudinal ridges. Seeds ellipsoid, 12–23 mm long, 0.7–1.2 mm wide and 0.7–1.0 mm thick. Pollination March–May, seeds maturing September–November (Fu et al. (1999), Lang et al. 2013).

Distribution and Ecology

China: N and W Sichuan, W and N Yunnan; at 885-3700 m elevation in mixed conifer forest and thickets by streams (Lang et al. 2013, Yang and Liao 2013). Grows at 1800-3600 m elevations in forests dominated by Abies, Picea or Larix. Here it is a subcanopy tree or shrub, often accompanied by Taxus chinensis and shrubs like Eurya and Rhododendron (Yang and Liao 2013). Based on the sites of recorded collections, it appears to be a primarily subalpine, usually shrubby species of forest understories and riparian areas. The species has an area of occupancy estimated at 589 km², with 12 populations. Those populations are severely fragmented. Although no specific threats or recent declines have been observed or recorded, some decline is suspected due to high rates of deforestation in some parts of its range, and it is listed as "Near Threatened." It is not known to occur any protected areas, and is not the subject of any targeted conservation efforts (Yang and Liao 2013). Since that conservation assessment dates to late 2010, it is very possible that C. alpina now qualifies for a "Threatened" listing.

Distribution data (C. alpina shown in light blue), based on GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.bz6u39 (2024.08.24). Open left pane for legend; click on any icon for a link to source information. See map notes (left pane) for details on map preparation.

Although Yang and Liao (2013) report the species' occurrence in southern Gansu and perhaps Shaanxi, these reports would place the species many hundreds of kilometers from its known range, in areas exposed to a severe continental climate. GBIF (2024.08.24) records include 90 occurrences of C. alpina, of which 57 are in Yunnan and 18 in Sichuan. Some of these have been verified by modern researchers familiar with the species. There are also 9 unlocated records, 3 records in Hubei, 2 in Gansu, and 1 in Zhejiang. All are old (1925 in the case of Gansu) and none have recently been verified; the species' occurrence in these areas seems unlikely.

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2024.08.19.

Ethnobotany

No uses have been recorded except as an ornamental shrub in horticulture (Farjon 2010, Yang and Liao 2013). A variety of chemical studies have identified novel alkaloids and terpenoids in the foliage, twigs, and seeds (Ni et al. 2016, Li et al. 2020, Ge et al. 2022).

Observations

No data as of 2024.08.19.

Remarks

The epithet refers to the species' occurrence at subalpine elevations.

Citations

Fu, L.-K. 1984. A study on the genus Cephalotaxus Sieb. et Zucc. Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 22(4):277–288.

Ge, Zhan‐Peng, Bin Zhou, Flavia M. Zimbres, Maria B. Cassera, Jin‐Xin Zhao, and Jian‐Min Yue. 2022. Cephalotane‐Type Norditerpenoids from Cephalotaxus fortunei var. alpina. Chinese Journal of Chemistry 40(10):1177-1184.

Lang, Xue-Dong, Jian-Rong Su, Shu-Gang Lu, Zhi-Jun Zhang, and S.-F. Li. 2012. The taxonomic status of Cephalotaxus alpina (Li) L.K.Fu (Cephalotaxaceae) in the views of morphological characteristics of seeds and leaves. Bulletin of Botanical Research 32(1): 4–9.

Lang, Xue-Dong, Jian-Rong Su, Shu-Gang Lu, and Zhi-Jun Zhang. 2013. A taxonomic revision of the genus Cephalotaxus (Taxaceae). Phytotaxa 84(1):1-24.

Li, H. L. 1953. New species and varieties in Cephalotaxus. Lloydia 16(3):162-164.

Li, Yanzhi, Yuetong Wang, Zhaoxiang Shao, Chunxue Zhao, Qinxue Jing, Dahong Li, Bin Lin, Yongkui Jing, Zhanlin Li, and Huiming Hua. 2020. Diterpenoids from Cephalotaxus fortunei var. alpina and their cytotoxic activity. Bioorganic Chemistry 103:104226.

Ni, Ling, Xiu-Hong Zhong, Jie Cai, Mei-Fen Bao, Bing-Jie Zhang, Jing Wu, and Xiang-Hai Cai. 2016. Five new alkaloids from Cephalotaxus lanceolata and C. fortunei var. alpina. Natural Products and Bioprospecting 6:149-154.

Wang, Jie, Chao-Nan Fu, Zhi-Qiong Mo, Michael Möller, Jun-Bo Yang, Zhi-Rong Zhang, De-Zhu Li, and Lian-Ming Gao. 2022. Testing the Complete Plastome for Species Discrimination, Cryptic Species Discovery and Phylogenetic Resolution in Cephalotaxus (Cephalotaxaceae). Frontiers in Plant Science 13: 768810. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.768810, accessed 2024.08.26.

Yang, Y. and W. Liao. 2013. Cephalotaxus fortunei var. alpina. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T63546A3126743. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/63546/3126743, accessed 2024.08.19.

Zhang, Jian-Wei, Ashalata D’Rozario, Xiao-Qing Liang, and Zhe-Kun Zhou. 2019. Middle Miocene Cephalotaxus (Taxaceae) from Yunnan, southwest China, and its implications to taxonomy and evolution of the genus. Palaeoworld 28(3): 381-402.

See also